


Scavenger Hunt

by ArchangelEquinox



Series: Once More to the Breach [14]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Smut, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Shameless Smut, Skyhold
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-24
Updated: 2015-10-07
Packaged: 2018-04-23 03:26:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4861214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArchangelEquinox/pseuds/ArchangelEquinox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>People keep giving Cullen things to take to the Inquisitor, and he obliges (because of course he does).  It's frustrating as the pile grows and his arms go numb, but it also raises a lot of questions -- Leliana wants him to bring the Inquisitor new shoes, sure, but why did Cassandra have her daggers? Sera have her pants? Dorian her ...silk scarf?  What is going on??  </p><p>Little does he know the game he's stumbled into.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

When Cullen sat down to a meeting with Josephine and found the Inquisitor's hunting jacket, he didn't give it a second thought.  "Oh, she was just here," Josephine said with a sigh. "She must have left it.  Do you mind?" 

            Of course he didn't, though he wasn't sure when he was going to have time to see Talia that afternoon.  He slung the jacket over his arm, cradled under the pile of letters he needed to Leliana to read through before he could send them. 

            In the rookery, Cullen blinked at the beige boots Leliana begged him to bring back to Talia's quarters.  They looked exactly like her other boots, the soft leather ones she always wore around Skyhold.  "They aren't, though!" Leliana insisted, holding one far too close to his face.  "Look at the stitching here! How tiny, how precise! I had to pay a fortune to a cobbler in Val Royeaux for such quality!"  The Commander didn't argue, only nodded his agreement to the favor and added the boots to the jacket in his arms. 

            He chuckled when, upon passing Varric, the dwarf stopped him and handed him the next book in the Swords and Shields serial.  "I promised Sunburst," he said, by way of explanation, and Cullen couldn't imagine denying his love her favorite books. 

            When he stopped by the undercroft to ask Harrit about more swords for his soldiers, he encountered a squealing arcanist waving something bright and heavy-looking.  "I'm so glad you're here!" Dagna shrieked upon seeing the Commander, her voice so high-pitched Cullen had to resist the urge to cover his ears.  "Isn't this beautiful!"  She held up the Inquisitor's new breastplate, a small but highly polished piece with the Inquisition's heraldry on the front. 

            Of course it was, Cullen agreed, and of course he would see it safely to her quarters.  Thankfully, her hunting jacket fit neatly inside the breastplate's slightly concave back, and her book rested easily on top.  It might not have been the most easily carried package, but he didn't mind the extra weight.  He bent to pick up her boots, balancing everything in one arm while his fingers hooked into the leather, and headed out. 

            The tavern was next on his list, as he needed to talk to Krem about an assignment for the Chargers, but he had barely gotten inside the Herald's Rest before being assaulted by Sera.  "Here's the Quizzie's pants," the elf blurted, unceremoniously dropping a pair of dark, crumpled leather leggings on top of the book Cullen held.   "Don't get them off again too fast, yeah?"  Moments later, before he could even blush, Bull added a crimson shirt to the pile.  "Boss asked me to find her something in Antivan red," he said mysteriously,  throwing Cullen a salacious wink.

            The Commander was left standing in the middle of the tavern, his arms draped with far too many items and his jaw slack.  He wondered if it were possible for his day to get weirder when, on cue, Cole materialized and handed him a bouquet of …was that mint? and dawn lotus blossoms?  Cullen was too flustered to even talk to Krem, instead leaving to find Cassandra. 

            He didn't get far.  Dorian sauntered by, and in passing deposited a pair of gloves and a silk scarf on the pile.  "Our darling Inquisitor has been trapped in her office for hours," he informed Cullen.  "Do be a dear and bring her these?  I promised I would, but I just can't find the time to get up there this afternoon."  He batted his eyelashes innocently, and Cullen glared as his mustachioed, smirking face disappeared into the tavern.  Can't find the time, indeed. 

            He sighed.  Normally he wouldn't mind doing Talia favors, as clearly she had been so swamped since her latest mission that she couldn't run her errands, but the sheer volume of things to bring her was overwhelming.  He wasn't even sure if he'd have time to visit her;  she was clearly hard at work, and he didn't want to interrupt.   Thankfully he only had one more person to see -- his arms were starting to go numb. 

            Visiting Cassandra didn't have quite the soothing effect he was hoping for.   They discussed Alistair's installment as the new leader of the Grey Wardens, which had been delayed for almost three months now since Adamant due to his injuries from the Fade.  But when the Seeker gave him her closest approximation to a sympathetic smile, Cullen started to get suspicious. 

            "Another item for the Inquisitor?" 

            "She asked me to test these," the Seeker said and pulled out two oilcloth-wrapped daggers.  "I do not find them to my liking.  Could you return them to her?"  Cullen sighed but accepted them, recognizing the blades as the ones Talia had just recently stopped using in battle.  He was sure she would want them back.  He was also sure she could have picked them up herself at a later date. 

            Solas stopped him on his way to his office.  The mage made idle conversation for a few minutes until, seeing Cullen's discomfort, he gave in.  "The Inquisitor," he began, and Cullen felt his mouth twist into an involuntary frown.  "Asked me to send up a fresh journal.  If you could take it to her, I would most appreciate it."  He deposited a large volume on top of everything else, adjusting it carefully so it wouldn't fall off.  Cullen managed a small nod before excusing himself. 

            A scrap of white linen lay on his desk, and he almost screamed in frustration.  Surely, if he'd been holding his sword instead of a mess of Talia's things, he would have sliced whatever it was to ribbons. 

            Given his current situation as Talia's pack mule, however, he placed everything carefully onto his chair.  He would have much preferred throwing them out the window at this point, but he held back.  Crossing to his desk, he picked up the white fabric and studied it for a long moment. 

            Then he turned swiftly back to the chair and gathered everything back up in his arms.  The heavy door to his tower slammed shut as he hurried out, and his footsteps echoed on the stone as he nearly ran to the keep.  

            Behind him, Talia's white linen breastband settled to the stone of the breezeway. 


	2. Chapter 2

A bewildered guard opened the door off the main hall and Cullen thanked him gruffly, still trying to balance the load of Talia's things in his arms. 

            "Do you need any help, Commander?"  Cullen knew the guard was just being polite, but his reply could not have burst out of him faster. 

            "NO! I mean, urm… No, thank you, I can quite manage on my own."  He gave the man an awkward nod and pushed past him, ignoring the raised eyebrows in his wake. 

            The stairs up to the Inquisitor's quarters seemed endless, twisting up into her tower for miles as the items he was carrying grew heavier.  He deeply regretted his haste in leaving his office; if only he had taken a moment to take off his armor! Instead he was staggering up the stairs like a green recruit, much to his shame. 

            The sight of Talia's door made it all worthwhile though, for draped over the handle was a pair of lacy smalls. 

            He reached for them instinctively, without thinking, and everything went off-kilter.  The breastplate dropped first, its polished front crashing into the stone with a horrific noise like a dying dragon.  Everything else -- the clothes, the books, even the daggers -- seemed to explode outward, covering the stairs around him in Talia's belongings. 

            The silk scarf, its dark blue shimmering in the torchlight, fluttered down just as Talia opened the door before him. 

            "Um," he said, his hand rising to rub the back of his neck.  "Hello." 

            Talia surveyed him for a moment, confusion evident on her face.  She was wearing her full armor for some reason; the old iron breastplate caught the light on its scratched surface, the heavy coat's belt looped tight around her waist.

            "Working off some frustration?" She finally asked as the breastplate settled against the stone with a rattle. 

            "Um," Cullen answered helpfully.  He stared at the items littering the stairs around him -- the green hunting jacket crumpled, the upside down book bent open, the daggers that had managed to clatter down the stairs away from him.  Then his eyes settled on the door handle behind her, and a smirk slid across his face.  "I was just trying to be thorough in bringing you your things, Inquisitor."  He gestured to the smalls.  Talia's eyes remained firmly on his face, but the smile that spread across her features indicated her pleasure at his response. 

            "I'm glad you caught on." 

            "I… found some, um, clues." 

            She leaned in and kissed the corner of his mouth quickly.  Cullen tried to turn his head to catch her lips, but missed.  "Well, come in, Commander," she said, and spun to retreat inside.  He noted with concern that her daggers were strapped to her back in addition to her armor, and once again his suspicions grew.  "And do bring all my things," Talia called over her shoulder.  The husk in her voice pulled Cullen back to the moment, and he bent down to gather everything back up. 

            "You could help," he muttered, the gripe out of his mouth before he could bite it back.  He cringed inwardly. 

            Talia froze where she was and turned slowly back to face him, hands on her hips.  "Oh no, Commander, that wouldn't be playing by the rules."  The desire was even more obvious now. 

            "Rules?"  His cock twitched in his trousers. 

            "You're good at following those, aren't you, Commander."  It was not a question.

            Cullen's face must have made an 'O' of surprise, his eyebrows sliding up toward his hair, because Talia laughed.  The music of it echoed through the staircase to her chambers, heralding her arrival as she left him there, dumbfounded. 

            It took him a moment to gather his wits about him.  By that time, Talia was up the stairs and out of sight in her quarters, and his self-control was back in check.  Moving slowly, deliberately, he gathered up the items that had spilled from his arms. 

            If she wanted to play a game, why then, a game she would get. 

            The boots, jacket, and books all went back into her breastplate, once again relegated to the role of basket.  He tucked each dagger down into his boots -- an easier place to carry them, but also a convenient hiding place.  Should this 'game' turn out to be a lust-filled sparring session, he wanted to win. 

            Then he carefully folded up her shirt and leggings, depositing them on top of the pile.  The gloves went into his pockets, and he tucked the silk scarf safely away behind his breastplate as a bargaining chip.  He still didn't quite know what he was walking into, but he felt better prepared.  Picking up the breastplate, he then arranged the bouquet carefully in his other hand -- a peace offering of sorts. 

            Something nagged at the back of his mind, something that was missing, but when he surveyed the stairs around him, nothing remained.  He dismissed the feeling and headed inside.         

            At the last second, just as he was about to head up the stairs, he swung back and snatched her smalls off the door handle. 

            Talia was waiting for him on her desk, her legs crossed and her weight resting back against her arms.  She smiled alluringly at him and tweaked at eyebrow. 

            "Glad you could join me, Commander," she murmured. 

            "Of course, Inquisitor,"  he replied, mimicking her continued use of his title.  "Do you have any particular place you'd like your things?" 

            She gestured to her ornate bed.  "There is fine.  Though keep them close."  He wondered at this but didn't ask, instead moving to set everything down.  Keeping the bouquet in hand, he then swept across the room.  Talia didn't have time to move before Cullen had pinned her down, his lips insistent on hers.  She had just started to kiss him back when he recoiled and held the flowers out to her. 

            "A gift," he said simply.  "From Cole." 

            She accepted them but said nothing, laying them across her desk.  Then she lifted a hand to his chest and pushed him away. 

            Cullen rocked backwards.  Was she refusing him? Had he crossed some line, broken some rule he didn't know about yet, with the kiss?  He was about to ask, confusing lining his face, when she spoke. 

            "So, Commander.  You've brought me my things, and I'm most grateful."  He could hear the purr in her voice, the invitation.  "Now. Here are the rules."  She pushed herself off the desk, setting her booted feet gently on the ground to stand before him.  One hip cocked out under her coat, and she dropped her gaze before looking back up through her eyelashes.  He could not deny the arousal that again overcame him.    

            But he still wanted to play the game, so he tried to keep his voice steady.  "I'm ready to hear them." 

            "It's simple, really."  She stepped close to him, one hand walking its way up his breastplate between them.  "If you have acquired the corresponding piece of clothing… I take it off." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut ahead!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is so very NSFW. 
> 
> Extra smut due to long-overdue update included ;)

Cullen stared at her for a long moment as he absorbed this.  Talia stared up at him, a smirk etched onto her pretty features, and waited. 

            Games in the bedroom were new to them, but he couldn't deny his interest.  He'd often heard from Dorian of the fun that could be had, though most of Dorian's games seemed to involve more pain that he was perhaps willing to entertain.  That aside, he had wondered if Talia might be interested in some of the more palatable experiences he'd heard of.  Apparently, she'd had similar curiosities. 

            He stepped back from her quickly and dropped to one knee to fish a dagger out from his boot.  Then, standing, he pinched the tip between two fingers and held it out toward her.  She just watched, her eyes tracing his every movement. 

            He dropped it. 

            They both watched it clatter to the floor, its bounce muffled by the thick rug as it settled.  Talia raised her eyes back to his, and he lifted his chin a touch, offering a slight challenge to her. 

            Without breaking eye contact, she unstrapped one of the daggers off her back and tossed it to the floor. 

            Cullen smiled. 

            Still maintaining eye contact, he backed away from her and proceeded to shed his coat and armor.  His hands lingered over each buckle and knot, feeling the tension in the room ratchet up as she watched him. Her eyes quickly abandoned his face, instead following his fingers' deft movements until he stood before her in his tunic and breeches. 

            He sat on the edge of the bed then, figure bent to unlace his boots.  He could feel her gaze on him and knew he was making her crazy -- she loved games, but Maker, was she impatient, and this must be killing her.  A smile quirked across his features and he deliberately slowed down.  Finally he dumped the boots on the ground and stood, holding the second dagger out before him once again. 

            With a flick of his wrist, he tossed it aside.  Hers followed.  He fished the gloves out of his pockets next.  She peeled hers off with her teeth, her eyes smoldering as she did, and discarded them. 

            "Tell me, Inquisitor," Cullen said softly, turning to dig through the pile on the bed.  "What happens if I pull an item out of order?"  He turned around, holding the boots Leliana had so raved over.  Talia dutifully unlaced hers. 

            "That depends, Commander," she said as she tried to balance as seductively as possible whilst removing the boots.  "What did you have in mind?" 

            Cullen produced her leggings, and Talia gave him a look.  When he shrugged innocently, she wiggled out of her leggings, leaving herself clad in her rogue gear from the waist up and nothing but a pair of lacy black smalls and her socks on the bottom. 

            "I quite like this game," Cullen observed, and she threw the leggings at him. 

            Her coat, breastplate, and shirt went much the same way until she was standing in her smalls, the heavy belt still looped around her waist.  Cullen had traded the books he carried for her pickpocket kit and her socks, which she'd insisted counted as separate. 

            "You're losing, Inquisitor," Cullen rumbled as he unwound the long blue scarf Dorian had given him.  She unbuckled hers and stepped closer. 

            "Not yet I'm not," she said seductively and threw her belt around the back of his neck, using it to pull him toward her. 

            He grunted in surprise, but it quickly turned into pleasure as she pressed her warm body up against his.  She pushed herself up on her toes, rubbing herself against him as she did, and kissed him hard.  Grateful he was just in his light clothes, Cullen wrapped his arms around her, his hands snaking down to grab her ass and pull her even closer.  She giggled, nipping his lips, and dropped the belt to fumble for the hem of his shirt where it tucked into his breeches. 

            "Oh no, none of that," he gasped out, pulling away from her.  "We still have a game to finish." 

            Talia backed away and frowned.  "Are you sure, Commander?"  She gestured toward the bed.  "I don't see much left." 

            "Just your smalls, Inquisitor."  He turned back to the bed with a cocky smile, one that mirrored his arousal.  It was quickly lost, however, when he realized he had only one item left -- and Talia was still wearing two pieces of clothing. 

            "Missing something?"  The flirt in her voice was obvious.  Cullen cursed quietly; she must have seen from the start that he was missing her breastband.  But he didn't want her to win, so he tried to gather up all the confidence he could. 

            "Never," he said quietly, and flicked the smalls to her feet.  She raised an eyebrow at him but said nothing, her hands sliding down her body toward the band holding the lace up.  "Allow me."  He stepped close to her, so close he could feel the heat between them, and dropped to his knees. 

            Talia shifted her weight back, staring down at Cullen with a bemused expression on her face.  "You've lost an item, Commander," she accused.  The slightest of shakes in her voice betrayed both her loss of the upper hand in their game and the arousal he knew was spinning through her body. 

            "Nonsense, Inquisitor."  Cullen ran his hands up her legs, pressed them hard into her thighs, dropped one big thumb quickly over her clit as he passed.  Talia sucked in a sharp breath.  "I'm right where I want to be."  His fingers curled over the top edge of the lace, peeling the smalls down one slow inch at a time.  The lace had done nothing to absorb her arousal, and her inner thighs shone with it. 

            Cullen kept his face turned up, eyes locked with hers, as he dragged her smalls down her legs.  When they pooled at her ankles, he gently lifted each foot to remove them before bringing the lace to his face.  Without breaking eye contact, he breathed in deep, her warm, musky scent lighting up nerves he didn't even know he had and shooting electricity straight to his cock. 

            Above him, Talia moaned, her eyes slipping closed. 

            He moved slowly back up her legs, trailing kisses along her skin.  At the juncture of her thighs, he leaned in and flicked his tongue lightly over her clit.  She twitched hard and he could see her bite her lip to keep from crying out.  Smiling, he moved higher, kissing along her curls until he nipped at her hipbone. 

            "Cullen!"  She yelped, her eyes flying open.  He smiled innocently up at her, his eyes crinkling as he pressed a warm apology kiss to the top of her slit.  The hard glint in her eye vanished as he slid his tongue along her flesh, and when he slid his hands up her legs to spread her folds, she smiled down at him. 

            He leaned in then, taking a long, loving taste, and she groaned, her eyes rolling back in her head.  His fingers pressed along her opening, teasing her with their lack of penetration.  When she cried out again, Cullen shifted his attention back to her clit, licking and sucking the swollen nub with purpose.  One hand shifted to grasp her hips and pull her tighter against him.  He could feel her muscles twitching, shaking, with the effort of holding herself up against the onslaught of pleasure. 

            Up to this point, he'd been able to ignore his own arousal, but when a new flood of warmth soaked over his tongue, he couldn't help but moan against her body.  He was straining against his smallclothes and breeches, the fabric instead a prison with Talia bare before him.  One hand reached down to squeeze himself tightly, a brief moment of relief, but it wasn't enough.  Instead, he tried to refocus, bringing his hand back up to the woman he loved and pushing his fingers roughly inside her. 

            A loud, beautiful cry leapt from her, and she fell backwards against the desk, her ass resting on its edge.  One hand propped her up and the other dropped to tangle in Cullen's hair.  He relished the feel of her nails scratching at his scalp as he brought her pleasure, but now, with his cock still trapped and their game still unfinished, it was too much. 

            Cullen leaned back, letting his tongue drag along her slit as he moved.  She squeezed her hand in his hair, fighting to keep him pressed to her body, but he abruptly dropped down and used his hand on her ass to tip her over his shoulder.  She let loose a combination moan-squeak as he stood. 

            "Cullen! Put me down!"  Her voice echoed around her chambers as he carried her across the room. 

            The Commander smirked, though Talia couldn’t see it.  "As you wish," he chuckled and tossed her on the bed. 

            The look on her face would have terrified anyone else, but Cullen knew better.  "Hands, Inquisitor," he demanded, picking up the blue scarf from its place on the floor.  She continued to stare daggers at him for a moment, but when he didn't back down, instead twirling the scarf around his fingertips, she relented. 

            She held her arms out to him, but Cullen just chuckled. He knelt before her, ran his rough hands up her sides, and suddenly flipped her over.  Face down on the bed, she immediately started protesting. 

            "This is unfair!" He ignored her, instead catching her slim wrists in one broad hand and carefully looping the scarf around it.  The fabric tightened just enough to hold her in place but not hurt her.  "Cullen!" 

            "Oh, love," he whispered, leaning over so his lips just brushed her ear.  "I play to win."  She shivered, and Cullen smiled.  He moved again, kissing one pert ass cheek before flipping her onto her back, and then gestured for her to try to get loose. 

            She flailed valiantly for several moments until she gave up and her body went limp.  "You think I'm trapped, don't you?"  She demanded, her green eyes lit with fire. 

            "Only a little," he said with a smirk and ran his hands along her body again.  The sight of her before him,  the fading afternoon sunlight streaking through the stained glass of her chambers to paint her bare body in brilliant hues, was one he would remember until the end of his days. 

            Something rough pushed against his abdomen, and he looked down to find one of her bare feet running up and down his torso.  He caught it with one hand, running his fingertips over the bottom and making her twitch away. 

            "Impatient?"  He barely had the words out when she wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him down on top of her.  Throwing his hands out, he caught his weight, lowering himself to give her a gentle kiss. 

            "Cullen," she hissed when he pulled away.  "Please. I need you." 

            He didn't answer, only dropped his body down to kiss along her collarbones and stomach, skipping the skin covered by her breastband.  He nipped the opposite hipbone this time and settled between her legs, one hand coming down to tease along her folds. 

            "You're still wet," he breathed, and pressed his mouth against her.  She bucked up, crying out.  His tongue slid between her folds, lapping at her arousal.  Each minute detail of her body, her lovely pink folds and her neatly trimmed hair, made his cock that much harder, and he snaked one hand down to grasp himself.  His own hips bucked into his touch, and as he plunged his tongue into her body, he found himself becoming desperate for some kind of friction. 

            Cullen wanted to bring her pleasure, push her over the edge first, but he found that his self-control was quickly fraying.  Talia was so wet and welcoming before him, her hands tied behind her back only serving to push her heat closer to his face.  Slowly, so slowly, he removed his hand from his length and dragged it up her body, his tongue mimicking what he so desperately wanted to do to her.    Instead he pressed a finger, then a second, into her body, his tongue and lips shifting to lavish attention on her clit. 

            "Oh, Maker, Cullen!" Her voice was rising now, her cries feverish.  She slung one long thigh over his shoulder, effectively pulling his lips tighter against her, and he responded by sucking harder, moving his fingers faster.  Her walls clenched on his fingers, his cock twitched to be surrounded by her warmth, and he crooked his fingers inside her.  

            She froze for a sudden moment before her back arched off the bed, and her cries echoed off the walls of her quarters as she came.  Cullen stayed where he was, never stopping his fingers or his tongue until she went limp before him. 

            One wet kiss against her slit, her arousal glistening on his chin, and Cullen pulled away from her.  His fingers dragged slowly out of her body and he sucked them into his mouth.  All this was making him crazy with lust, Talia laying before him heaving, her legs splayed, all pleasure he had brought her. 

            "Cullen…"  He could hear the hitch in his name as she caught her breath. 

            He chuckled, one hand dropping to his lap to cup himself again through his breeches.  "Yes, love?" 

            She lifted her head just enough to see him.  "You're good at this game." 

            "I play to win," he murmured, his voice dripping with desire.  He reached for her shoulders and helped her sit up, thinking he would have to untie her wrists. 

            The second she was upright, however, a wicked grin spread across her face.  She wiggled for a moment before producing the blue scarf from behind her back.  

            "I tried to tell you," she said seductively, waving the silk at him. 

            Cullen stared. 

            The fact that she could have gotten out herself, at anytime, but hadn't, was far more arousing than he expected.  Something about her giving up control to him, but knowing they were so evenly matched… he ached just thinking about it, and the scarf she was now running through her fingers only encouraged him. 

            In a blur, Talia threw the scarf aside and dug her fingers into his shirt.  She yanked him toward her, ripping a seam in her haste, and suddenly her mouth was hot and demanding on his. 

            He kissed her back feverishly, the pressure of his body against hers heavy and wanting.   He was almost painfully hard, trapped inside his breeches and smalls with Talia's heat pressed against his length.  Her hips were pushing insistently against his, little groans escaping her as she plundered his mouth with her tongue.  She must have been able to taste herself, smell herself, on him, but it didn't seem to bother her.  In fact, she seemed to relish it, and that sent another wave of heat rushing through Cullen's body. 

            His hips pushed roughly against hers, and that reminded her that while she was almost entirely naked, he was still entirely clothed.  The shirt was already ripped, which was apparently license to destroy it because she soon tore it open down the front and her frantic hands were dragging it from his broad shoulders.  She shoved him up so he was on all fours above her, lips still locked with his, and tried to undo his pants.  Once the laces loosened, she thrust one hand into his smalls and grasped him, squeezing in time with her tongue's movement in his mouth. 

            He rocked backward, gasping.  "Talia!  Maker, woman," he breathed, resting his forehead against hers for the briefest of moments. 

            She was not content to wait, allowing Cullen only a moment's respite before she sat up and yanked his pants down his legs.  His cock sprang out of his smalls, and he groaned when she grasped his length again. 

            "I think I'm a strong favorite to win," she teased, her eyes alight with mirth.  Smirking, Cullen carefully pulled himself from her grasp and stood up.  Confusion crossed her face, but then he quirked a finger at her and she slid across the bed to meet him. 

            Once there, Cullen caught her face in his hands and hauled her up against his body, his cock hot and insistent between them, and her arousal still leaking down her thighs.  She kissed him back, her nipples taut against the muscles of his chest.  Suddenly he slipped his hands under her ass and pulled her up, bracing her back against the post of her bed.  Her legs lifted instinctively to wrap around his waist, and neither could hold back their moans when his cock slid across her heat. 

            "Maker, Cullen," she panted, her hands burying themselves in his hair.

            "How I want you," he gasped back and felt her hand leave his hair to reach for him between her legs. 

            There was a brief moment of fumbling:  Cullen was tall, and Talia not much shorter, and he had to adjust her in his arms to get everything to line up. 

            It didn't take long though, and then Cullen was sinking into her heat, her warm body welcoming him as he joined with her.  A long, low groan swept from his body as she took him, her heels digging into his back to push him as deep as he could go. 

            "Oh Maker, yes…" she gasped.  Cullen pulled himself out, slowly, leisurely, until just the tip of his length was left inside her before he thrust in to the hilt, and they both shouted. 

            He'd had far too much teasing in all this time -- the whole day's worth of her clothes, the slow strip-tease of their trading game, the electrifying sight of her coming apart before him -- and now Cullen found that he could barely control himself.  Now he was finally sheathed in his woman, her body hot and demanding in his arms, and he wanted to do nothing more than fuck her until they were both sated. 

            He adjusted her weight back so she was pinned against the post, tightened his grip on her ass and thighs, and started thrusting in earnest.  Talia clung to him, her short nails leaving red marks across his shoulders as she grabbed for him, rolling her hips to match his movements. 

            "So wet," he grunted as he buried himself within her. "So hot… Talia, oh…" Cullen knew he wasn’t going to last overly long, not after the day he'd had, but he wanted to feel her come around him first, wanted to see her lose herself to him, before he would let himself come.  Her silken walls were surging as he moved, pulsing in time with their thrusts.  The head of his cock glided across that place inside her he loved to find, her eyes popping open and finding his as her pleasure mounted. 

            "Oh fuck…" she gasped.  "Maker, Cullen, you feel fucking fantastic… Oh!"  He pounded against her ever harder, his hips never leaving hers as he thrust inside her.   Despite being leveraged against the bedpost, Talia leaned out to find Cullen's lips with hers, one hand tangling roughly into his hair as she moved.  Each fresh push was met with a short, harsh tug on his curls, a sensation he'd never before experienced and yet it sent a flush of heat straight to his groin. 

            Then she managed to shift against him, her heat taking his cock in even further just as she pulled on his hair, and he nearly screamed with the bliss that crashed over him.           

            She pulled back, smiling against his lips, but he didn't let her go.  Instead, he leaned into her, pressing all his weight against her, his fingers digging further into her ass, her thighs.  Sweat poured off their bodies, their skin slick as they rubbed against each other.  Kissing was too intense now, and Cullen turned his face into her neck and shoulders, nipping and sucking as he fucked her. 

            He could feel her clenching now, her voice getting louder and less coherent as she neared her end.  Fewer "Makers" left her lips, replaced with more wild cries and curses as her grip dug into his hair and shoulders.  His own movement was getting desperate, the ache in his belly tightening to almost unbearable heights. 

            Her walls spasmed on him once, suddenly, and his hips popped out of rhythm.  He gasped.  "Maker, I'm close!" 

            Talia clung to him, moaning at his words.  "Come for me," she begged, her tongue flicking over the shell of his ear. 

            Cullen let go with a roar, his body tensing up as his cock jerked with his release. He pinned her against the bedpost, groaning into the crook of her neck as his hips stuttered.  Talia went over the edge just after him, her core clutching his cock tight as he emptied himself into her.  Her legs stayed locked around his waist, holding them close, but her head dropped back as the last of her orgasm rippled through her. 

            He held her up as long as he could in the wake of their pleasure, but before long he could feel his hands starting to slip.  Talia dropped one of her legs down, balancing herself on her toes, and Cullen shifted them over toward the bed.  Still joined, they sank gratefully onto the mattress.  It was only minutes later, when they'd regained themselves a little, that Cullen carefully withdrew from her.  She shuddered and wiggled closer, burying her face against his chest.  He kept his arms wrapped around her. 

            "That was fun," she finally murmured, and he couldn't help but smile. 

            "I'm inclined to agree," he replied, kissing the top of her head. 

            She wiggled around until she could see him easily.  "Inclined? Not blown away? Not stunned into submission?" 

            Cullen laughed.  "I am always all those things around you."  She grumped until he leaned over, catching her lips with his.  "I love you, Talia." 

            This seemed to earn him forgiveness.  "I love you too." She pushed herself up and crawled across the bed to the pillows.  "Now come on." Pulling the blankets down, she settled herself under them and gave him a look. 

            Cullen stared at her blankly.  "It's not even dinner yet." 

            "So?" 

            "So, I…"

            "Cullen, I swear, if you say you have work to do, I'm going to crawl over to that pile of shit and get my daggers."  Cullen dutifully closed his mouth.  "That's better.  Now: Come on!" 

            He really couldn't argue, and neither could he keep the smile off his face as he started to fall asleep, soothed by her warm body next to his. 

            In the last moments of consciousness, a questioned popped into his head.  "Quizzie?" 

            "Hm?"  Her eyes remained closed. 

            "Who won?" 

            She opened one eye to peek at him. "You seem to be naked, my dear Commander."  A smirk crossed her face.  "And I… am still wearing my breastband."

            Cullen pondered this information for a long moment, wondering if he should remind her that he was, in fact, still wearing his socks -- which would technically mean he had on more clothing.    After all, it was her rule that "socks count as separate items of clothing." 

            He decided against it.  "Rematch?" 

            "Rematch," she agreed, and they drifted off to sleep.     


End file.
